Allure of mystery helps recluse's gold net $3.5M

This Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo shows the Carson City, Nev. home of Walter Samaszko Jr. A crew sent to clean out Samaszko's house found more than $7.4 million worth of gold coins, bars and bullion left behind in the garage after his death in June. About 135 pounds (61 kilograms) of Walter Samaszko Jr.'s gold coins will be auctioned off in 11 lots Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in a courtroom to pay government taxes and fees. Carson City Clerk Recorder Alan Glover says the auction will only include about half of the trove left behind when the reclusive man died in his modest Carson City home last year. An exhaustive search identified California substitute teacher Arlene Magdanz as Samaszko's first cousin and sole heir to the fortune that was decades in the making. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)